Accordion folded paper garment bag



Dec 16, 1947. c, JOHNSTON 2,432,524

ACCORDION FOLDED PAPER GARMENT BAG Filed Dec. 4, 1944 5 WYW 'b'tor-neys Patented Dec. 16, 1947 UNITED STATEd ACCORDION FOLDED PAPER GARMENT BAG Arthur C. Johnston, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application December 4, 1944, Serial No. 566,625

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to a garment bagging apparatus and method. It is the common practice in suit cleaning and pressing establishments to support a coat, suit or dress on a hanger and then to cover the same with a paper bag. It is a rather slow, awkward and difficult task to get the garment so covered or to get the same into a bag. The bag is usually disposed over the suit or other article of clothing with the open end of the bag at the bottom.

An object of my invention is the provision of a bag for the above and other analogous purposes which has been transversely folded from end to end in a novel manner and to support the bag by the folds thereof to greatly facilitate placing the same over a garment or other object.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus by means of which a bag can be easily and quickly drawn over a suit other article of clothing supported upon a suitable hanger so that the suit or article is covered by and enclosed in the bag.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus comprising a container adapted to hold a plurality of collapsed, accordion, folded bags in superposed relation, said bags being folded in longitudinally expansible or extensible condition and disposed with their open ends downwardly, together with means for supporting the lowermost bag from the folds thereof within the mouth of the container and a suit hanger below said container mouth and preferably substantially centrally thereof, said container having an open lower end or mouth through which said bags can be successfully withdrawn, whereby a bag so folded and supported is withdrawn fold by told from said container and gradually moved downwardly in longitudinally expanded or extended condition over said suit.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a garment bagging apparatus comprising a container adapted to receive a plurality of bags, said bags being folded in longitudinally expansible condition, said container having an opening at its lower end and having supporting means for the bags adjacent thereto, and constructed and arranged so that a bag is supported while gradually withdrawn downwardly through said opening, together with means for supporting a garment hanger adjacent said opening whereby a bag may be withdrawn from said container and moved downwardly over a garment supported on said hanger in longitudinally expanded. con dition so as to cover or enclose said garment- It is more specifically an object of the invention to provide a garment bagging apparatus comprising a container preferably of rectangular form in horizontal cross-section and adapted to receive a plurality of bags in superposed relation, which bags are in substantially flat folded, longitudinally expansible condition with their open ends directed downwardly, said container having an open lower end with means for supporting said bags so that the lowermost bag may be withdrawn through said end, together with a member supported by said container which may extend through said container and bags, said member having means below said container for supporting a garment hanger whereby a bag may be withdrawn downwardly from said co-ntainer, expanded and moved over a garment supported on said hanger.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully set forth in the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which:

Fig. l is a view partly in front elevation and partly in central vertical section.

Fig. 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in central vertical section.

Fig. 3 is a partial vertical section taken on line 3-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a folded bag.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4 as indicated by the arrows.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on line E-B of Fig. 4 as indicated by the arrows.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a hanger supporting member used.

Referring to the drawing, a device is shown comprising a container it. While this container might be variously formed in the embodiment of the invention illustrated, it is shown of general rectangular form in plan or horizontal cross section. Said container may be open at its top and is shown as provided with a cover or lid lfia. At its bottom container EU has inwardly extending rather narrow flanges lllb extending inwardly from its longer sides and is open be tween the inner edges of said flanges. At its ends container H3 is provided with slots lt c having open lower ends and being disposed centrally of the ends of said container. Said container is also provided at its top with an elongated slot Edd disposed centrally of the lid idea and having its long dimension parallel with the longer sides of said container. Container to may be supported at a convenient height in any suitable manner, and in the embodiment of the invention illustrated it is shown as having a board or plate I I secured thereto to which is secured a laterally extending supporting member I2. can be a part of a bracket attached to the wall or supported from the floor. Container I is adapted to receive a plurality of bags I3. Bags I3, as shown, are in comparatively flat folded condition. While said bagscould be folded in various Ways to be in readily longitudinally expansible or extensible conditions, they are illustrated as formed with transverse accordion-like folds I3a at their opposed sides which extend around the girth of the bags. In other words, the skirt portions of each bag are transversely folded from the closed to the open ends thereof at spaced intervals. The open ends of the bags I3 are directed downwardly and are thus at the lower side of the bags. Said bags I3 are shown as having elongated slots I3b through their closed ends, which slots are shown as of generally rectangular form with the sides thereof parallel to the edges of the bag bottom. It will be observed that the opposed inner edges of the accordion-like folds I3a are spaced apart, as shown in Figs. and 6, so as to provide an axially extending passage I30 immediately underlying and in alignment with the rectangular slot I311 in the closed end of the bag. A member or bar I4 is provided support by container Ill, and while it could be supported in various ways in the embodiment of the invention illustrated, it is shown as having members Ida extending perpendicular to its sides, which members have downturned ends 141) adapted to fit over the sides of cover Illa. Bar I4 is shown of rectangular form in transverse cross-section, and members Ma and M22 are thus at right angles to each other. Bar I4 extends downwardly through slot Hid in cover I00. and passage I30 and thence downwardly some distance below the bottom flanges Iflb. It will be seen that bar I4 will be held firmly in position by members Ma and I4b. Bar I4 is constructed and arranged at its lower end to support a garment hanger I5. While said bar could be variously so constructed, it is shown as having an arcuate slot I40 in one flat side which will conveniently receive the curved hooklike supporting portion I5a of the hanger I5. The cover Illa. has secured at its inner side a flat plate spring I6 of bowed form, the end portions of which are adapted to engage the topmost bag I3 to exert some pressure on the bags and hold them firmly in position with the lowermost bag engaging the flanges Iflb.

In operation the bags will be folded and disposed, as shown in the drawing. When a suit, coat or other garment is to be bagged, it is placed on the hanger I5 and the hanger then placed in th eslot I40 so that it occupies the position shown in Fig. 1. The operator now takes hold of the lowermost bag at the ends thereof, engaging the same through the slots I50, and pulls the bag downwardly. The bag readily moves downwardly through the opening between flanges IE1) and slides from said flanges, the bag being expanded as it is moved downwardly since the spaced folds therein will be successively engaged and retarded by the flanges. The movement is continued until the whole bag has been withdrawn from container It] and moved downwardly over the garment on the hanger l5. The bar I4, of course, extends through the axial passages I30 and the slots II-ib in all of the bags and the bottom of the bag withdrawn moves Member I2 4 along bar I4 so that the closed end or bottom will eventually move over the handle or supporting portion I5a of the hanger I5, and the bottom of the bag will rest on top of the garment on hanger I5, with the portion I5a projecting through the slot I31). The garment is now nicely and completely covered by the bag which has been fully extended and the covered garment and bag can be lifted from bar I4 by taking hold of the handle portion l5a. The bags will move or be fed downwardly in the container ID by the pressure of spring IS. The cover Ito and member I4, together with spring I6, can be conveniently removed and a new supply of bags placed in the container.

While I have disclosed a novel apparatus for dispensing my novel covering bag, it should be obvious that the bag may be used independently of any dispensing apparatus. This could be accomplished by merely taking one of the bags, such as illustrated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, placing it over a conventional coat hanger I5 having a garment thereon, so that the hooked end I5a projects upwardly through the axial passage I30 and out through the elongated slot I31). The hooked end I5a and the hanger I5 is then placed over a suitable supporting means and the open end of the bag is pulled down over the garment.

While I have illustrated a bag container having a cover, it is obvious that this cover could be omitted and the upper end of the container left open, Without impairing the efiiciency of the apparatus or the method of operation. Likewise, while I have shown a spring for the purpose of feeding the bags to the bottom of the container, a weight could be used to accomplish this purpose with equal eifectiveness.

It is also important to note that the anchoring of the bar member I4 to the container I0 or other object, prevents wobbling of the bar and assures lengthwise alignment of the bags with the hanger member I5. Of further importance is the fact that when the hook-like supporting portion I5a of thehanger I5 is fitted into the arcuate slot I40, said hanger I5 will likewise be held rigidly in alignment with the bags as they are pulled downwardly and expanded over the hanger and garment being supported therefrom.

From the above description it will be seen that I have provided a simple, convenient and efficient method and apparatus for easily and quickly covering a suit or other garment or placing a bag thereover. The operation of withdrawing the bag and moving it over the garment in expanded condition can be very quickly performed. The garments can thus be very quickly covered. The method, bag and apparatus have been amply demonstrated in actual practice and found to be very successful and efficient.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the apparatus and in the steps and sequence of steps of the method without departing from the scope of applicants invention, which, generally stated, consists in a method, bag and apparatus capable of carrying out the objects above set forth, such as disclosed and defined in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A garment enclosing paper bag rectangular in cross-section and having a closed end and an open end, said closed end having a centrally disposed aperture the side walls of said bag being each provided with a plurality of transverse accordion folds which join at their ends to extend around its girth from the closed to the open end thereof, said joining folds providing for collapsing of the ba with its open end opening into the bag between the folds to facilitate initial admission of a hanger supported garment into that end of the bag and to the closed end thereof, whereby the bag may be readily distendable over and about the garment by reason of said joining folds with the hanger projecting through the aperture in the closed end of the bag.

ARTHUR C. JOHNSTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

